Next week, the public will be invited to Louisiana Tech University’s campus to meet the two semifinalists for the school’s top leadership spot.
Tech’s own Les Guice, executive vice president and vice president for research and development, and Duance C. Hrncir, acting president of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, will face public interviews by the Tech Presidential Search Committee on Nov. 28 in Tech’s Howard Center Auditorium.

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Area residents helped dispose of household waste in an environmentally friendly way as Keep Lincoln Parish Beautiful held its “green” event in conjunction with America Recycles Day on Nov. 15.
“We had 50 vehicles come through, but I’m unable to provide weights for items collected as I don’t have a way to weigh them,” said KLPB Director Camille Mize. “We received aluminum cans, fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, cell phones, No. 1, No. 2 and No.3 plastics, paper and cardboard.”

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Residents are invited to nominate someone 85 years or older from the parishes of Ouachita, Union, Lincoln or Jackson who has made significant contributions in the field of education, and who taught in the elementary or secondary school system prior to the national mandate for public school integration.

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City Hall and the Utility Billing Office will be closed on Thursday and Friday. For emergency utility services, contact 255-1316.
There will be no residential garbage and trash collection on Thursday and Friday. The commercial garbage trucks will not run on Thursday, but will run Friday. The residential garbage pickup for Thursday will be picked up on Monday. The residential garbage pickup for Friday will be picked up on Nov. 27.

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BATON ROUGE (AP) — The Louisiana Board of Ethics has decided that the company of a member of the state’s top school board can continue its work with the labor department.
Members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education aren’t supposed to enter into any contracts with state government under a law Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration passed in 2008.
BESE member Jay Guillot, of Ruston, sought guidance from the ethics board about his company, Hunt, Guillot and Associates, participating in the Incumbent Worker Training Program, run through the labor department.

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Sgt. Dennis Penuell has spent several years chasing down drug smugglers, dealers and other criminals.
The Choudrant native and 1994 Cedar Creek High alumnus went to work for the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office about seven years ago, following a four-year stint with the Coast Guard, where he worked on the Potomac River in Maryland.
Determined to return to his Lincoln Parish roots, Penuell decided police work was the best path for him, as his assignment in Maryland involved a good deal of law enforcement, albeit on the water.

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One group of volunteers is working to ensure that no local resident will go without a holiday meal on Thanksgiving.
Kat Auger, owner of Kapiche in downtown Ruston, is spearheading an effort to serve Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday at her store.
“On Thanksgiving Day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., we will have people serving lunch to those less fortunate, and we will also be delivering lunches to shut-ins, or people who cannot travel for themselves and are less fortunate,” Auger said.

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It is a beautiful time of year, with all of the landscapes showing off their shades of gold, yellow, red, burgundy and orange. It’s hard to drive on any city street or cruise a rural back road and not be impressed with this year’s fall color display. It is truly worth the time, exploring this short-lived phenomenon.
While most of the seasonal excitement is created from foliar coloration, one plant, Camellia sasanqua, is bearing a profusion of color with its blossoms. Few things compare to the sight of a specimen sasanqua in full bloom emerging from a circle of fallen blossoms. The sasanquas were once found in every landscape, flowering in fall and early winter, depending on cultivar and location, but today many of the new gardens are designed with its familiar cousin, Camellia japonica.

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Louisiana Tech University’s “24-hour” rule is over.
Whatever emotions — heartbreak, anger, etc. — the Bulldogs had left over from Saturday afternoon’s 48-41 overtime loss to Utah State University, they are done with and now the focus is entirely on the next game.
And while Saturday’s 9:30 p.m. contest at San Jose State might not rank at the same level of significance as last weekend’s “Game of the Year” setting with USU, it’s still extremely important..

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Brandi Wingate has the pedigree to be a superstar.
The 6-foot-1-inch strong forward from Northwest Florida State also has the God-given talent and ability to shine on the Division I level.
Teresa Weatherspoon and the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters outworked more than 30 other Division I programs in inking the No. 2 ranked strong forward/wing (No. 12 overall) in the country during the early signing period.

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